North Korea: The Human Rights and Security Nexus

Organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK), George W. Bush Institute, National Endowment for Democracy, and Yonsei Center for Human Liberty

Please join us for a special gathering of policymakers, opinion leaders, and stakeholders on the topic of North Korean human rights and the nexus with security issues. This full-day gathering commemorates the two-year anniversary of the publication of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry report and subsequent UN action to address North Korea's human rights violations. Featured speakers and panelists will discuss accountability for North Korean human rights abuses, feature new data and research, examine the link between human and national security, and investigate policy prospects for 2016 as we seek to deepen understanding of the human condition in North Korea and formulate practical solutions.

A distinguished assembly of speakers and panel discussants will gather at CSIS, including:Michael KirbyChair, United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in North Korea Former Justice of the Australian High Court

Sonja BiserkoPresident, Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia Member, United Nations Committee of Inquiry on Human Rights in North Korea

Signe PoulsenHead, UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Seoul

Robert KingSpecial Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues, U.S. Department of State

PROGRAM AGENDA08:30 - 09:00 AM Registration and Check-In

9:00 – 9:30 AM Opening Ceremony

Greetings Victor Cha, Senior Adviser and Korea Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies and Professor, Georgetown University

Chair: Victor Cha, Senior Adviser and Korea Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies and Professor, Georgetown University

Panelists: Michael Kirby, Chair, United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in North Korea; former Justice of the Australian High Court Sonja Biserko, Member, United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in North Korea Signe Poulsen, Head, UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Seoul

10:50 - 11:00 AM Coffee Break

11:00 - 11:45 AM Special Address

Tom Malinowski, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Department of State

Panelists: Robert King, Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues, U.S. Department of State Sydney A Seiler, Senior Adviser, Office of the Director of National Intelligence; former Special Envoy for the Six-Party Talks, U.S. Department of State Kurt Campbell, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Asia Group, LLC; former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, U.S. Department of State Michael Green, Senior Vice President for Asia and Japan Chair, CSIS; Chair in Modern and Contemporary Japanese Politics and Foreign Policy, Georgetown University Choi Seok-young, former ROK Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN Office in Geneva

01:30 - 01:45 PM Coffee Break

01:45 - 03:00 PM New Research on North Korean Human Rights Documentation

Panelists: Grace Jo, Vice-President of NKinUSA Lee Sungju, Member of Citizens’ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights Oh Sehyek, Researcher, Transitional Justice Working Group Baek Buhm-Suk, Assistant Professor of Public International Law, Kyung Hee University Hannah Song, President and CEO, Liberty in North Korea

04:25 - 04:30 PM Adjournment

Victor Cha, Senior Adviser and Korea Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies and Professor, Georgetown University